Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Royals fans and fans across the country.
Earlier this week, John Sherman sat down for a recorded interview with Josh Vernier of 96.5 FM The Fan. During the course of the interview, Sherman provided something of a state of the union address for the team. Royals Rundown covered it extensively in their latest podcast, but the aspect I want to focus on today is his assertion that J.J.
Picollo’s assertion that the team intends to compete next year is accurate.
I was heartened by the fact that Sherman seemed to acknowledge the amount of work the team needs to do in order to achieve that goal. He noted that they only have three healthy starting pitchers under contract, that the bullpen needs a complete overhaul, and the lineup probably needs an addition or two. However, he also seemed to take for granted that the team would be healthier and that the younger players would continue to get better.
He also indicated that the team believes they can improve the bullpen without spending a lot of money. It’s true that very good relievers can often be had at low cost and that even the expensive relievers can have bad years. Check out the Dodgers’ attempts to fortify their own bullpen last year with Tanner Scott and this year with Edwin Díaz. And finding five or more (definitely more) relievers in a single offseason is a big task. To say nothing of making the other changes. The Mets tried to do a similarly-sized overhaul of their own team in the past offseason, and they’re one of the few teams nearly as bad as the Royals this year.
Still, Sherman said the team knew it would have to spend some serious money, especially in the rotation. Does that mean they’ll be in the running for Tarik Skubal or Casey Mize? Only time will tell. Either way, are you feeling better after hearing him speak?
